EV talent commands respect, big salaries

Daniel Kirchert, Luxury carmaker Infiniti's former China head has joined a startup electric car venture backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd and Foxconn Technology Group. [Photo/China Daily]

"Part of this EV startup bubble can be explained by hot money," said Jochen Siebert, managing director of JSC Automotive Consulting in Singapore.

"It reminds me a bit of the 1990s, when almost everything with internet or e-commerce was supported by private equity, and the stocks went through the roof."

A lot of that money is being spent on recruiting for the corporate suite, with companies backed by some of China's richest people hiring top executives from rivals and from Silicon Valley to help distinguish themselves.

Take Future Mobility Corp, an EV-maker backed by Gou's Foxconn Technology Group and Ma's Tencent Holdings Ltd. The company hired Daniel Kirchert, who was president of Dongfeng Infiniti Motor Co and Carsten Breitfeld, project manager for BMW AG's i8 plug-in sports car. Then it lured more managers from BMW.

"It is such a huge opportunity and advantage to start from zero," Kirchert said. "Our company offers a really big platform for talented people to reach their goals without hitting the glass ceilings they would have hit at traditional automakers."